Sweet and Sour Meatballs

My mother always made meatballs for Passover. For years I actually forgot about them. Then I thought, What wonderful comfort food to be included in my totally Ashkenazi Passover menu! This recipe is a compilation of ingredients from recipes in my old and tried recipe books from Montreal and my early days of marriage. They have names like The Naomi Cook Book, Kinnereth Cook Book and A Treasure for My Daughter and really only get used when I am cooking for Jewish holidays.

Beginning by making the sauce: heat the oil in a large pot and add diced onions. Add salt and pepper and cook until golden. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.

While the sauce is coming to a boil, mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs and form into balls. Drop them into the boiling sauce. Reduce to simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 1½ hours over low heat. At the end, taste the sauce and adjust with brown sugar and more lemon juice if needed.